Chicken Pot Un-Pie

Our family loves a good Chicken Pot Pie any day of the week but to be honest, sometimes I don’t have the forethought, time or patience to put one together. On nights like those, I like to whip up what we have coined Chicken Pot Un-Pie! The method is similar but comes together faster. If I’m in the mood, I’ll even throw together some drop biscuits and call it a night. (I know, biscuits are basically pie crust but again, quicker and less precise. In my mind it takes less time:) I also just like to use what we have on hand and it is a great way to use up ingredients too, like half of a rotisserie chicken we had in the fridge. If you are looking for a quick, inexpensive meal that is a family pleaser, try this tonight!

Ingredients for Chicken Pot Un-Pie:

1. 1/2 cup butter

2. 1/2 cup flour

3. 1 tsp salt

4. 1/2 tsp pepper

5. 4 cups milk

6. 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken

7. 1 can of mixed vegetables

Directions:

1. Measure out flour, salt and pepper into bowl and stir.

2. Over low heat in a 10” skillet or pot, melt butter.

3. Stir flour mixture into melted butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.

4. Gradually stir in milk. Return to heat. Heat sauce to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Then add in your cooked chicken and canned vegetables (I used a can of mixed vegetables and also a can of potatoes that I had on hand), reduce heat to low and simmer until everything is warm, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Hint: This is also the perfect time to whip up a batch of drop biscuits!

Then plate up your Chicken Pot Un-Pie and ENJOY!

Serves 6-8

Handmade Crochet Unicorn

This past year has been a great time to brush up on old skills or take up new ones! While I had taught myself some crochet a long time ago, the extent of my skills at the time was crocheting in a straight line, aka only scarfs :) The world of Amigurumi was only recently brought to my attention. Now I have a “can’t stop, won’t stop” mentality when it comes to creating all the plushy cuteness. There are just SO MANY fun patterns out there!

When we found out that my sister-in-law is expecting a little girl, I knew just the pattern I wanted to try next. The free pattern is called Unicorn Amora and it is a pattern created by amiimaker by Marina Dessotti. The instructions were easy to follow and it was such an enjoyable project to make. I just love how it turned out and she did too! I even whipped up a matching headband to go with it.

I’m considering taking limited orders between now and the holidays if anyone would like to gift it or just simply enjoy for themselves! You can find her on our products page.

Or if you are a fellow crocheter and would like to try the pattern for yourself, be sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram or leave a comment below with your finished Unicorn!

Rest, Relaxation and Unexpected Surprises

Our family had the opportunity to take some time off from our daily responsibilities here on the farm and soak up some Florida sunshine!  It was the perfect combination of sun, sand and surprises.  (Don’t worry though, our Maine Coons and our other farm animals received the best care while we were gone, thanks Mom and Dad!) 

As you can imagine, traveling for us is… shall we say, a little difficult.  We love our farm and our Maine Coons but choosing this lifestyle of ours doesn’t really afford for much time to get away.  Short of some weekend trips here and there, this was our families first REAL vacation, and we made the most of it!

Did you know that Disney is celebrating their 5oth anniversary?  We had no idea when we booked everything back in the Spring.  We were a little nervous about how the crowds might be but on average we were pleasantly surprised and didn’t have to wait longer than 30 minutes for most of the attractions, which was awesome!  The magic of Disney did not disappoint either.  My personal favorite was a Broadway-esc musical rendition of Beauty and the Beast.  Matthew’s was the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and the kids will forever be talking about the Slinky Dog Dash. 

We also had perfect weather while we were in Florida.  Sun, sun and more sun!  It didn’t feel too different from what we left back home in Missouri, but we soaked it all up nonetheless.  After a day full of sun, miles of walking and exciting adventures, it was so nice to come back to our hotel in the evenings and cool off in the pool!

After Disney, we tackled the almost 7-hour drive AND the 7 MILE BRIDGE (what!?!) and found ourselves at the southernmost point in Key West, Florida.  Matthew and I still can’t believe how many miles from the mainland it really is.  Reading up on the history of Key West and the overseas highway is very fascinating.  Did you know that in 1912, Henry Flagler connected Key West to the Florida mainland via the Overseas Railway?  Mind. Blown. 

The Keys certainly have a magical atmosphere all their own.  Endless stretches of beautiful blue ocean, palm trees, coconuts, wild chickens and cockroaches the size of a small child.  We were definitely caught off guard when we returned back to our townhome one night, flicked on the light switch and watched very large insects quickly scurry away.  Or when in the wee hours of the morning, while sipping on a cup of coffee one appears out of nowhere and you swear it is going to eat YOU for breakfast!  Yeah, the roaches weren’t a favorite, but the beaches, coconuts and chickens certainly were!

On our first night out, we ate dinner at the Moondog Café and Bakery.  Its location is in the Old Town District which made parking a little bit of a struggle, so we had to walk some before reaching our culinary destination.  As we were approaching the final corner before the café, we noticed a crowd of people, stopped at a fenced house, taking pictures.  To our surprise it was the home of Ernest Hemingway and his polydactyl cats!!  I may have been freaking out on the inside just a little but tried to keep my cool.  We love our MITTEN KITTENS!!!

After a quick refresher, I recalled reading about the Hemingway house but for some reason it had never clicked when we were planning our vacation.  Unfortunately, our schedule did not allow us to tour his home, but I was able to take a few pictures from the outside.  Can anyone spot the Hemingway cat?

Speaking of polydactyl cats, did you know that some Maine Coons have inherited this genetic anomaly?  The word polydactyl means having more than the normal number of toes.  For the feline species that number is normally 18 toes, however the world record holder has 28 TOES!!

It is commonly believed that Hemingway’s polydactyl cat Snowball, may have been a Maine Coon.  It is said that one of his friends, a ship captain, brought him a cat with six toes on its paw.  Because cats were not altered during this time, more and more Hemingway cats began to appear.  On average, if one parent carries the polydactyl gene, 50% of the kittens will too!  And as he put it so correctly: “One cat leads to another” in more ways than one. If you add a Maine Coon kitten to your family, chances are you’ll want another one to go with it! As if the Maine Coons could get any more exceptional, we think ones with extra toes are extra special, especially when they give mitten hugs!

Our final days were spent on the beach, playing in the sand, hunting for shells and sea glass and splashing in the warm ocean waves.  If you get the chance to, we highly recommend visiting the Florida Keys!

While we enjoyed our time away and there is something wonderful about stepping out of the ordinary and seeing and experiencing new things, at the end of the day, there still is no place like home.

Back to the Basics

This past year has been a roller coaster full of ups and downs, twist and turns, corkscrews and loop-d-loops. But what a ride it’s been AND will continue to be, as such is the nature of life! I’m not quite sure what path the track will take next but we are looking forward to the adventure! To help us better prepare for what may lie ahead, we as a family and a farm, have decided to focus on the basics.

There are still so many questions that we are working through but we also have a sense of clarity as well, a focal point if you will. And that focal point is our OWN duty stations; our Family, our Farm, our Felines and the people that God has put on our path. In His sovereignty, the Lord has called us to this place, with these people and these animals. We are learning to be content in whatever situation He has placed us in and also to be faithful with the work He has given us to do.

In our Family, back to the basics means; focusing on our relationship with the Lord through family Bible reading and attending church together, being intentional with our time and investing in our relationships with each other, cultivating a lifestyle and environment of learning and growth and providing hospitality to our friends and neighbors.

On our Farm, it means making better use of the land and resources that are here. Cutting back in some areas and expanding in others. Adding new animals and saying goodbye to old ones. Developing a plan for summer and fall gardening and better sustainability.

While we loved hosting the large events here in previous years, at this time we are unable to continue to provide those experiences on that type of scale. However we remain open and willing to be used by the Lord, should a new opportunity present itself.

Lastly, for our Felines, we remain focused on the care and health of our Maine Coons. Providing families with a healthy, social, lifetime companion has been and will continue to be our mission. We love what we do and we love having the opportunity to share this amazing breed with others!

So whatever duty stations the Lord has called you to; “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…” Colossians 3:23.

And sing while you work!

Blessed the Man that Fears Jehovah/ Psalm 128/ Robert Lowry

Blessed the man that fears Jehovah

And that walketh in His ways.

Thou shalt eat of thy hands labor;

And be prospered all thy days.

Like a vine with fruit abounding

In thy house thy wife is found

And like olive plants, thy children

Compassing thy table round.

Paths

“A man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

Here at Sugar Island Farm, we have been planning our way for the last 2 years; hosting events on our farm and raising amazing Maine Coons. Meeting all of you has blessed us immensely and we have very fond memories of all that God has allowed us to do here.

However, the Lord is directing our steps in a different direction temporarily. For the next year, life will look a lot different and sadly this means we will no longer be able to host our Sugar Island Christmas Co. or our Spring EGGstravaganza for 2020 and 2021.

Thank you for your understanding and for being a part of our journey!

Sincerely,

~Matthew and Kassiani

Baked Oatmeal

I’ve tried baked oatmeal recipes in the past that were good but they usually required me to prep the oats by soaking them in the liquid overnight or for a few hours before baking but let’s be REAL… I usually never remember! I like to think of my self as the planning type but most of the time, I just wing it. For these reasons above, I stopped making baked oatmeal. (Long, dramatic sigh)

BUT the other day I was looking for something homemade, easy and only required a few simple ingredients that I already had on hand. I found the EASIEST, dump and go recipe for baked oatmeal and guess what, I don’t even have to soak the oats! That’s what we call in a mother’s kitchen a win, win scenario.

Follow along with me as I whip up this delicious recipe that is perfect for fall breakfasts or pretty much any time of the day!

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

• In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in dried cranberries. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

• Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

P.S. I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality, I was literally throwing it together this morning for breakfast and well, the lighting wasn’t great.

Enjoy!

Porcupine Wisdom

We stumbled upon this gem during our homeschool read aloud today! We have had the pleasure of reading two books this year by Sam Campbell, “How’s Inky” and “Too Much Salt and Pepper”. Both stories tell of the adventures in nature the Campbell’s experienced at their summer cabin. We wrapped up “How’s Inky” a few weeks ago and have been working our way through “Too Much Salt and Pepper”. The back cover states, “Too Much Salt and Pepper” will prick your heart as you see the warm wisdom of nature Mr. Campbell reveals in every chapter.” Well my heart was definitely pricked today and I felt compelled to share. Here is the excerpt:

“Too Much Salt and Pepper”, Chapter 9 - Play Is The Thing, The Naturalness of Joy p.135

“You fellers been busy today?” went Inky’s comments. (Inky is the porcupine)

“Yes old top, we have been busy. We have been trying to learn something about the way you forest people play, how you know joy.”

“Yea! You folks could do with a little information about that.” Inky scratched his side, shook out his quills, twitched his nose, and went on. “Sometimes when I hear what you folks do to have a good time, as you call it, I feel sorry for you. Why do you do the things that tear down your health and your characters, and call that fun? Good Balsam Juice, if we animals went carousin’ around eatin’ and drinkin’ things that did us no good, we certainly would be failures at livin’ in the woods! You noticed everything you saw in nature was buildin’ up, didn’t you? You don’t find any of our folks playin’ around unless that play is makin’ him strong and able to get along in the world. That’s what play ought to be. You don’t have to tear yourselves to pieces just to have fun, do you? We see some human folks go through this woods a-puffin’ and blowin’ and complainin’, hardly able to walk. Lost all their strength tryin’ to have a good time. There’s so blamed much fun in this world, fun of the right kind - why don’t you human beings wake up? Why don’t you make your play develop your strength, give you health, spruce up your minds and your characters? Sometimes, by Balsam Juice, I get disgusted with you! You can be so much better and so much happier than you are if you’d only use some common sense.”

We all stood in silence. Inky looked from one to another, and Giny stroked his quill-capped head.

“There,” he went on, turning to waddle away into the night, “there, I guess I’ve been too mean again. You folks are kinda sensitive about your faults. You’d rather not hear about them. Rather be let alone even if you’re doin’ the wrong thing. I suppose I shouldn’t talk such stuff to you, even when I know it’s right.”

Hoping and praying we can all learn something from Inky the porcupine, so that we may see more common sense in the world today and for people to stand up for what is right. “Right”, defined by only ONE standard, God’s.

Low Carb Zucchini Fries

We are always on the look out for great, low carb recipes and so when I was craving french fries the other day… I knew I needed a better option! With just a little searching, I found this recipe and decided to give it a go. The ingredients are pantry staples; eggs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and with the abundance of zucchini from the summer garden, chances are either you grew some yourself or can find some locally at your farmer’s market or grocery store, which makes this recipe not only low carb but low cost too!

Watch along as I make Low Carb Zucchini Fries!

No Pre-Rinse! Putting our Home-Made Dishwasher Detergent to the TEST!

In case you had any doubts - see for yourself how well our home-made dishwasher detergent works!

Make your own dishwasher detergent

With a frugal mindset and looking to swap chemical cleaners for more natural alternatives in our housekeeping/cleaning, I was on the hunt for a simple, low cost, non-toxic dishwasher detergent.  I had tried a few recipes in the past; some didn’t fit the simple requirement I was looking for, one worked for a time but due to hard water issues began leaving a terrible film.  Others simply just didn’t work, that is until I found THIS recipe.  Thank you doTERRA for creating an affordable, yet effective, non-toxic recipe that you can literally just throw together!  I have been using this home-made dishwasher detergent for over a year and I am just as pleased with it now as I was when I first tried it.  My dishes come out sparkling clean with no nasty residue.  (And by the way, we still have hard water issues.)  Are you curious if it really is as easy and effective as I say it is?  Follow along with me as I walk you through it step by step.  But first, a little calculating!

Ingredient and Price List:

Baking Soda 4 lb - $2.24 ($0.14 per cup)

Citric Acid 7.5 oz - $2.97 ($0.79 per ¼ cup)

doTERRA OnGuard Cleaner Concentrate 12 fl oz - Retail: $19.33 Wholesale: $14.50 ($0.81 per tablespoon)

doTERRA Grapefruit Essential Oil 15 ml - Retail: $24 Wholesale: 18.00 ($0.10 per drop)

 Total cost per batch - $1.84 

Approximately 10 loads per batch (1/4 cup)

Grand total per load of dirty dishes: $0.184

Whew, enough of that math stuff (my head is spinning), I am about 99% confident that those numbers are pretty accurate ;) Please don’t fault me too much if I am off.  You get the picture though, this recipe is definitely low cost, which I LOVE!

The Baking Soda and Citric Acid, I buy from Walmart and the OnGuard and Grapefruit I purchase from doTERRA.  I am a Wellness Advocate so I receive the wholesale prices, which makes it cost even less for me!  If you would like to find out how you can get the wholesale prices too, click on the ‘Contact Us’ tab and send me a message for more information.

Now on to the fun stuff!  It really is almost like a science experiment in the kitchen!

 You will notice that the mixture will expand as you are waiting.  Don’t get too freaked out, it will fall back down but it can catch you a little off guard the first time or so.  Just make sure you choose a large enough bowl.  doTERRA’s recipe calls for molds to make tabs… while tabs may be more aesthetically pleasing because of the expansion, I really didn’t think it worked well and I don’t have the patience to continually flatten the molds for 4 hours, SO this is the lazy man’s version and I think it works just as well.  After waiting the 4 hours you will want to break apart what is left in the bowl until it is a powder consistency.  Lastly pour into a glass storage container, I like mason jars, and you are ready to go!

We pre-rinse all of our dishes and we also use distilled white vinegar as our rinse aid.  I put the detergent in the wash and pre-wash compartments in my dishwasher.  And that’s it; super simple, super inexpensive and super effective.  I just can’t say enough, HOW MUCH I LOVE this recipe!  I hope you will too!!